This history is derived from a few sources including
a "Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Latvia and Estonia" by Arlene Beare (published
by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain) but mainly edited from
the presentation made by Prof Ruvin Ferber at the 21st International Conference
of Jewish Genealogy held in London in July 2001. Prof Ferber is the Chairman
of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Latvia in Riga.

Prior to the arrival of Jews in Latvia the country was ruled by German Knightly
Orders (1201-1561). They imposed a total ban on the presence of Jews(1306).
Neighbouring Polish Lithuania had a considerable Jewish population from the
13thC.

In 1561 Poland took Livonia and Latgale but Kurland was an independent Duchy.
The history of the Jews from then on was different in the 3 Provinces and as
they were ruled by different people each had a different Jewish History.

Present day Latvia is divided into 4 regions.

Kurzeme in the north west and Zemgale in the south west were previously named
Kurland(Courland).Largest towns were Libau and Mitau. Vidzeme has Riga as the
Capital and extends North east bordering Estonia. Previously Livonia (Liflandia
under Russia) Included Walk,Wenden and Wolmar. Latgale was Latgalia and was
Vitebsk Gubernia under Russia. Largest towns were Rezekne and Dvinsk

Courland
From 1562-1795 was a semi-independent
duchy linked to Poland but with a prevailing German influence. The local Jewry
was closer to German Jewish than to Lithuanian Jewish.

Livonia
The Order insisted that it should be forbidden
for Jews to engage in commerce or act as farmers, which was interpreted by local
authorities as a ban to living in the country at all. This resulted in regarding
Jews as aliens, and nobles exploited the situation by levying all kinds of residence
restrictions, license fees, etc. for hundreds of years under the rule of Poland
(1561), Sweden (1621) and Russia (1710). There was a rather modern Jewish
community from 1840.

Latgalia(Poland 1562); came under Russian regime in 1772 after 1st Partition
of Poland (remember: every part once belonged to Poland). Latgalia was included
into the Pale of Settlement that was established in 1804. Latgalia was the home
of Yiddish speaking Jewish communities (Jewish intelligentsia spoke Russian)
identical to those in Lithuania-Byelorussia.

(Zemgale and Kurzeme in Modern Latvia.
Courland was Kurland in German and Kurlandia in Russian)

This is the most ancient Jewish community in
Latvia. Courland was never part of the Pale of Settlement. From an
early stage it consisted of two separate political entities.

The Province of Piltene
(Pilten) included districts of Grobin and Hasenpoth and part of Windau district.
It is more or less common to consider that the first Jews arrived in Piltene
around 1571 under protection of Duke Magnuss, who obtained Piltene as a gift
from his brother the King of Denmark to whom Pilten province was sold in 1559
along with the districts of Grobini (Grobin), Hasenpoth (now Aizpute) and part
of Windau (now Ventspils)district. When Piltene district
was sold to the Polish king Stefan Batory in 1685, Polish legislation was extended
upon the Jews of Piltene region and its neighborhood. The outcome was that while
Courland was an independent Duchy under protection of Poland, Piltene was an
enclave under direct ruling of the King of Poland. Even before selling
to Denmark, the Bishop of Pilten allowed wealthy Jews to settle and contribute
to the region’s development. Since Pilten lies near the sea, Jewish merchants
probably settled there from Prussia. Politically Pilten was ruled directly by
Poland while Courland Duchy (capital in Mitau) – by local nobility. The
reason for the special interest in Piltene province is obvious-all season sea
ports such as Libau (now Liepaja) and Windau were of utmost trade importance,
even competing with Riga port which did not operate in winter.
In Pilten there were no taxes imposed on Jews until 1717 (a charge
of 2 talers). Then there were decrees of expulsion btween
1727 and 1738 which never worked (as distinct from 1492, Spain).
In 1708 the first synagogue was permitted to be built in Aizpute (Hasenpoth)

Jews became permanent inhabitants of Courland in the
18th century. Especially favorable was the ruling
of Duke Ernst Johann Biron (1737-1747, then 1762-1769, the favourite of Russian
Empress Anna Ivanovna), who even nominated a Jew Louis Lipmann to be his chief
financial advisor. In the 18th century a lot of skilful Jewish workers and artisans
(construction workers, roof-makers, inlay workers, tailors) arrived in Courland
from Germany, as well as a number of medical doctors, the latter forming a core
of Jewish intelligentsia, actively confirming and bearing the ideas of Jewish
enlightenment – haskala. One of the founders of haskala movement in Courland
was the medical doctor and philosopher Marcus Hertz (1743 - 1803). The German
way of life (milieu) dominated in Courland, having a great impact on the Jews.
It is important to stress that mostly German (and not Yiddish) language was
the spoken language of the Jewish community and continued until World
War II.

Courland became part of Russia in 1795. The Russian Emperor Paul, under the pressure of haskala Jews, promulgated
in 1799 a law according to which Jews in Courland obtained legal status as permanent
inhabitants while subjected to double taxation. This allowed the possibility
of taking part in local government elections and stimulated integration
of Jews into German society in Courland gubernia. There were in Courland gubernia
in 1852, 23,743 Jews and 4,189 in Jelgava(Mitau)-22% of the inhabitants.
In 1780 – first Jewish school in Mitau (3 teachers).

Courland Jews in the 19th century. Laws for Jews were passed in 1799, 1804, 1835. In 1835 a new Code
was published allowing permanent residence to the Jews living there with their
families and registered locally according to the last census of the population.
The same rules were applied to the Jews in the city of Riga and the town of
Shlok
Jews paid 500 rubles
per person to avoid conscription into Russian army.

In 1844 Kehillot were officially abolished and finally
in 1893 Jews moved to Courland and Livonia (Riga) from the difficulties
in the Pale. More than 40% were involved in artisan/industrial professions,
while 35% were involved in trade. Libau port had a special role in Trade.
By WWI ca. 25% of all industrial enterprises in Libau belonged to Jews.

Culture / Education

In 1850 – 5 secular Jewish schools supported by State
(Libau, Mitau, Goldingen, Tukums), also religious schools (talmud torahs)
In 1897 – 7 state schools (boys), 22 private and 142
religious. In 1853 – a book of first Jewish
historian Reuven Wunderbahr. By the end of the
19th century German language was prevailing, but also literature in Yiddish and
Hebrew. Two great rabbis in Bauska (Boisk):
Mordehai Eliasberg and Rav Kook.

JEWS IN LATGALIA

(Latvian:Latgale, German:Lettgallen, Russian:Latgalia)

A quite contrasting Jewry settled and developed in Latgalia,
the southwestern part of the country. Latgalian Jewry was very similar to the
Jewry from Lithuanian-Byelorussian region, Lithuanian and Polish kingdoms. After
liquidation of Livonian Order (1561), Poland overtook the province and governed
it (under the name Inflantia) until 1772. No exact data on first Jews, most
probably they arrived from Poland in early 17thC after pogroms in 1605-39 (Vilna,
Sandomir, Brest, etc.). A considerable number of Jews arrived in Latgalia in
the mid 17th century escaping from the pogroms and massacres of Bogdan Chmelnitsky
and Cossack Raids (1648-1653) in the Ukraine and Byelorussia. These Jews were
Yiddish speaking and Orthodox, living in a self-governing community –
kahal. The Census of 1766 recorded 2, 996 Jews in the region (not including
children). Many Jews were peddlers.

In 1772, after the First Partition of Poland, the Latgalian
province with ca. 5,000 Jews belonged to Russia. In 1784 about 3,700 Jews
lived in Latgalia. The three Latgalian districts of Ludza (Lucin), Rezekne (Rezhica)
and Daugavpils (Dvinsk, Dinaburg) were after 1802 - Vitebsk province (gubernia),
within the Pale of Settlement. Jews were expelled from rural places to towns
and subjected to double taxation. From 1804 Jews were allowed to live
only in cities and small towns (shtetlach). As distinct from Courland and Riga,
the economy of Latgalia was poor (it was located to the east. Also far from
the Baltic Sea and close to Russia). In spite of poverty they maintained the
traditional way of life and had many children maintaining the growth of
the Jewish population which was up to 11, 000 in Latgalia in 1847.
Under Czar Nicholas I (1825-1856) there was obligatory
conscription into the Russian army, followed by the cantonist tragedy, especially
when the special powers of Recruit Kidnappers were established.

JEWS IN LIVONIA

(Latvian Vidzeme, German Livland, Russian Livonia)

Vidzeme (Livonia), including Riga is the central part of
Latvia. North of the Daugava River bordered by Estonia in the north and by the
Gulf of Riga in the west. Vidzeme (Riga) along with Courland is original nucleus
of Latvian Jewry. Riga was
always the most attractive focus of Jewish activities. The first houses for Jews
in Riga were built in 1638, however Jews were not allowed to settle in Riga on a
permanent basis.In 1710 Riga was conquered by Russian troops (Count Sheremetev),
and the articles of capitulation contained all the restrictions regarding Jews
because of the fear of economic/trade competition, mainly from
Germans. In 1724 a
non-Jewish resident was licensed to run a hostelry for Jews.

In 1724 Jews were expelled from the Russian Empire
(Empress Elizabeth). Riga and Livonia were emptied of Jews. Only by January 1764
the few Jews (three!) were officially allowed to stay in the “Jew’s Shelter”.
The official meeting of Hevra Kaddisha (Jewish Burial Society) took place in
1765. In 1785
Catherine the Great allowed Jews (and in fact people of any religion) to settle
near the Baltic Coast in Sloka (Shlok), about 35 km from Riga, as well as in
Dobele (Dubeln). More
shelters were developed and there was a growing Jewish. population.In 1841
the Russian Senate allowed Jews already there to live officially in Riga.

In the middle of 19th century there were about 4,500 Jews
in Vidzeme, including Riga.Livonia had been outside the Pale but that did not
prevent the establishment of an important Jewish community in Riga.This
community was the most modern in the Empire (along with Odessa), with marked
acculturation. In 1832 the community of “Jews of
Shlok residing in Riga” applied for a Jewish school in Riga.Thus, one of the
first (modern!) Jewish schools (Kaplan school) was established in 1840 in
Riga, with German as the language of tuition.

The first Riga synagogue was built in 1850. Later, the
most outstanding was the Great Synagogue in Gogol street (Cantors Baruh Leib
Rosowsky, later – Hermann Jadlowker). Riga was a lively political center
(Club Ivria for Zionists, Carmel for left-wingers, etc.)

RESUME

While Riga and Courland communities shared several Western-type
Jewish characteristics, they were much more Jewish than in Germany, Hungary,
and even Czech lands, being at the same time rather new and thus far from great
centers of Jewish learning in Lithuania. And even the rather modest acculturation
was halted, at least temporary, by the emergence of the independent Latvian
State with a consequent decline of both Russian and German influence.

There were 21,963 Jews in Riga in 1893 and 33,600 in 1914.

JEWS IN THE FIRST REPUBLIC OF LATVIA (1918 – 1940)

The independent Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on
November 18, 1918, and Jews, for the first time, were granted civil rights
to their full extent. 11 Jews became members of People’s Council (later Saeima)
of Latvia, while a lawyer Paul Mintz was a member of Karlis Ulmanis government
(1919-1921). 1,000 Jews took part in the liberation war in 1918-1921 (11 -Three
Stars medal), and the monument to the fallen Jewish soldiers can be seen
presently at the Jewish cemetery in Shmerli.

In 1919 a special law
established a Jewish section in the Ministry of Education aimed to direct a
network of state-paid Jewish sschools, which brought into existence the unique
environment for Jewish national education in Yiddish in Hebrew. As a result, the
overwhelming majority of Jewish children attended Jewish schools (with studies
in Hebrew – 31%, Yiddish – 48%, German – 14%, Russian – 7% in 1928-1929
).

Jewish schools:

1920:

24

1933:

119

Spoken language (1925) :

Yiddish (NY)

78,143

German

8,692

Russian

4,550

Latvian

527

Demographics

During 1920 – 1935 the number of Jews in the cities
of Latvia increased from 24,000 to 44,000. According to official statistics,
Latvian Jews numbered 95,675, or 5.2% of the total population in 1925, and 41%
Jews lived in Riga, where over one fourth of all commercial and industrial enterprises
were owned by Jews.

Inter-war Latvia, as well as in the other two Baltic
States, was a comparatively pleasant place for Jews to live in. The right-wing
takeover by Karlis Ulmanis regime in 1934 was not accompanied by anti-Jewish
violence, however the new government made efforts to “nationalize”
the economy, with negative consequences for Jews. Jewish community life was
interrupted by Soviet occupation in 1940, followed by the tragedy of Holocaust.

HOLOCAUST

June 17, 1940

Latvia occupied by 100,000 Soviet army troops

June 1940 - June 1941

Soviets ended Jewish community life in Latvia

June 13/14, 1941

Soviet deportation of 20,000 citizens (including Jews)

June 23, 1941

First massacres of Jews under German occupation

July 4, 1941

Burnt Gogol Synagogue; Latvian State Holocaust Memorial Day

End of November 1941

First action in Riga Ghetto (Rumbula)

November 3, 1943

Liquidation of Riga Ghetto

1944

Liquidation of Kaiserwald concentration camp

Ca. 15, 000 (?) from ca. 93,000(?) Jews escaped to Russia

There is a difference of opinion as to how many
Latvian Jews perished:

Vesterman

73,000

Ezergailis

63,000

Germans

70,000

In Yad Vashem – there are only 17,000 names

(Editor note: Prof Ferber is the Chairman of a wonderful Holocaust Project that
will document the names of the Jews of Latvia that perished in the Holocaust.
A completely new method of determing the names of those that have perished has
been devised and this should give a far more accurate database than exists at
present.)

JEWISH COMMUNITY IN LATVIAN STATE SINCE 1991 (1989):

a traditional minority in multicultural society

In 1989 First Jewish school in FSU (Former Soviet Union) opened
in Riga